Gov Obaseki stops aides from further engagement with Oshiomole

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has warmed members of his cabinet and supporters against responding to comments made weagainst him or his administration by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Obaseki was reacting to comments by Oshiomhole in the national dailies faulting his role in the crisis rocking the state House of Assembly.

Oshiomhole had said he did not think that it was right to inaugurate the House of Assembly at night, while also accusing Obaseki of removing the only nominee he had in his cabinet.

Reacting however, Obaseki, in a statement jointly signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie; and the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr. Paul Ohonbamu, on Monday, said he was pursuing the path of peace for the sake of the people of the state.

The statement read in part: “The onslaught against the governor and the government of Edo State, widely publicised, has been trailed by enquiries about the state government’s response to these attacks from various stakeholders, both within and outside the country.

“Consequently, the Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has instructed that no state actor, within the Edo State Government, should make any comment whatsoever, or join issues on the ensuing hostile comments and discussions.”

Obaseki also added in the statement that he had chosen the path of reconciliation in dealing with the issues.

However, in a swift reaction, the Edo Peoples Movement, also on Monday, described the statement issued by Obaseki on Oshiomhole as laughable and lacking tactics.

The EPM, in a statement signed by a co-convener, Mr Henry Idahagbon, said Obaseki’s statement showed how empty his administration was in terms of tactics, adding that the governor had no defence over what Oshiomhole said because the facts were clear.

He said: “Obaseki can only fool us once. He cannot fool us again. We are wiser now.

“So, I urge them to go and do the right thing than to think they want to deceive the public that he is a peace maker when in actual fact he is the root cause of the crisis in Edo APC.

“It is also a deceit on the part of the governor to say that he does not want to react because he is pursuing peace.

“What peace is he pursuing when he has yet to issue fresh proclamation for the inauguration of the state Assembly?”